LITTLE ROCK — Golden Tate would rather be talked about because he’s making catches or scoring touchdowns.
This week, the Seattle Seahawks wide receiver has gotten plenty of attention and very little of it for the three catches he had last Sunday against Dallas. Such is the situation Tate finds himself in after laying a block that flattened Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee and drew a $21,000 fine from the NFL on Wednesday.
“I just have to deal with it, fix the problem, make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Tate said Thursday. “It’s unfortunate that I got fined, but rules are rules.”
Tate was hit with a hefty fine from the league for his block on Lee that left the Dallas linebacker with an abrasion on his chin and helped define the Seahawks’ physical pounding of the Cowboys in a 27-7 victory last Sunday.
Almost immediately after Tate’s block, the debate started about whether it was legal and if it would draw a fine. The play happened in the fourth quarter when Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson scrambled from the pocket with Lee in pursuit. Tate, who was running a pass route, circled back and caught Lee with the top of his helmet on a block the linebacker didn’t see coming. Lee was sent flying backward with his cleats in the air.
On Monday, Seattle Coach Pete Carroll said he believed the block was perfectly legal and would not draw a fine. By Thursday, Carroll was trying to find out from the league why the block was illegal and how to avoid the situation in the future.
“We worked hard to understand what was going on with their evaluation of it. We worked behind the scenes and we’re still talking to the league to make sure we know because we need to teach our guys to stay within the guidelines,” Carroll said. “It was a great effort by Golden to make the block that he needed it to make, but unfortunately they saw that there was a little contact to the bottom of his face mask and perhaps his chin, and that’s not OK. Why that’s important to us is that we need to understand clearly how we can avoid doing that.”
Tate said he plans to appeal the fine and during the appeals process hopes to get a better understanding from the league of what needs to be different in the future.
“When I do my appeal, I’m going to ask them that: ‘What would you suggest I do so this doesn’t happen again?’ ” Tate said. “I never have intentions on hurting a player and always want to play within the rules. That’s a question that’s going to come up when I do my appeal.”
Ultimately, Tate said he would prefer the conversation be strictly about catching passes than borderline hits. Lost in the debate about his block on Lee was what Tate brought to the Seahawks offense after missing the season opener at Arizona with a knee injury. All three of Tate’s catches went for first downs, including a fourth-quarter, third-down reception that set up Seattle with a first-andgoal at the Dallas 3. Marshawn Lynch plunged in on the next play for the final score in the Seahawks victory.
THURSDAY’S GAME
NY Giants 36, Carolina 7
SUNDAY’S GAMES All times Central
Tampa Bay at Dallas, noon St. Louis at Chicago, noon San Francisco at Minnesota, noon Detroit at Tennessee, noon Kansas City at New Orleans, noon Cincinnati at Washington, noon NY Jets at Miami, noon Buffalo at Cleveland, noon Jacksonville at Indianapolis, noon Philadelphia at Arizona, 3:05 p.m. Atlanta at San Diego, 3:05 p.m. Pittsburgh at Oakland, 3:25 p.m. Houston at Denver, 3:25 p.m. New England at Baltimore, 7:20 p.m.
MONDAY’S GAME
Green Bay at Seattle, 7:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 27 Cleveland at Baltimore, 7:20 p.m. SUNDAY, SEPT. 30 Tennessee at Houston, noon San Diego at Kansas City, noon Seattle at St. Louis, noon New England at Buffalo, noon Minnesota at Detroit, noon Carolina at Atlanta, noon San Francisco at NY Jets, noon Miami at Arizona, 3:05 p.m. Oakland at Denver, 3:05 p.m. Cincinnati at Jacksonville, 3:05 p.m. New Orleans at Green Bay, 3:25 p.m. Washington at Tampa Bay, 3:25 p.m. NY Giants at Philadelphia, 7:20 p.m. OPEN Indianapolis, Pittsburgh MONDAY, OCT. 1 Chicago at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.
Sports, Pages 26 on 09/21/2012